What Are We Reading? 1 February 2021

[Bill]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "For the quizzers here:
Anyone inclined to guess books' titles by word clouds (most common English words excluded for feasibility)?

https://www.sporcle.com/games/uberger...

I mad..."
Well, I liked that quiz and got the first six, but didn't know (view spoiler)[ The Count of Monte Cristo (hide spoiler)], which I'd never read or even seen an adaptation of. So what to do? I picked "give up" only to find that doing so meant that I gave up on ALL the remaining titles, which wasn't at all my intention.

[Sandya]

OK-here is my review. I wrote it for a FB review page- hence the opening-I assume more of you are familiar with the subject. This is a book I re-read this weekend after a long gap. I bought my copy in the mid 70s and have reread it many times with pleasure.

The Young Melbourne. David Cecil.

Most readers here will probably only know Lord Melbourne from early episodes of “Victoria”, where he is rather well portrayed by Rufus Sewell. Lord David Cecil, who was descended from Melbourne’s sister, Emily, Countess Cowper, Viscountess Palmerston, wrote a wonderful biography of the man who became Prime Minister, then Queen Victoria’s mentor, guide, and essentially Personal Secretary at the start of her reign.

The Young Melbourne, volume 1 of this 2-volume work, shows how the various influences in his life came together to form the person he eventually became. These influences were the World, in the 18th century meaning of the word, the Whig aristocracy, his mother, Lady Melbourne, the Devonshire House Circle, and his disastrous marriage to Lady Caroline Ponsonby. Today, Lady Caroline would probably be diagnosed with a mental illness, my guess, bipolar disorder. The personality that resulted was very complex, characterized by a precarious balance between a cynical, worldly viewpoint and disinterested intellectual questing. This took time, so that he entered active public life relatively late, at age 47.

The book is beautifully written, rather in the style of Duff Cooper’s “Talleyrand”. It takes its history lightly, without intimidating the reader with footnotes, references, and superscripts. Yet its subject is well researched and it probably benefited greatly from family records. It is full of memorable quotes. On Fred Lamb, Melbourne’s younger brother-“Did he not read Shakespeare to his mistress? And what is more, persuade her to enjoy it?” This sparkling surface makes it easy to read and one ends up with a detailed knowledge, painlessly gained, of the time and place-London in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The book was published in 1940, and there has been much modern scholarship since-for example, “Lord Melbourne’s Susan” which I own and which presents a more positive picture of Lady Caroline Lamb, new biographies of Lady Byron and others. However, this remains a delightful biography, made accessible by the beautiful writing. Volume 2 is titled “Lord M” and covers Melbourne’s career as PM and guide to Queen Victoria. My copy, bought in 1979 on my birthday, originally belonged to Wolstan Weld-Forester, a diplomat and relation of “Lord M”. Fred Lamb's widow, Adine, Lady Beauvale, married Lord Forester en deuxième noces. It is also eminently readable.

[Hushpuppy]

Bill wrote (#327): "So what to do? I picked "give up""

The quiz rejected my French answer for this one, mphhh, I had to retype it in English. I didn't see you could 'give up', but in this case what you wanted was 'next', and then once you'd be done with the 25, it'd go back to your initial passes (my first was at 8, and then there was a 'ventre mou' at 12 until 15).

[Lljones]

Just heard from Justine, indeed internet issues (and a bit of poor health) have delayed this week's page, but she's working on it.

Phew.

[Hushpuppy]

Lljones wrote: "Just heard from Justine, indeed internet issues (and a bit of poor health) have delayed this week's page, but she's working on it.

Phew."

Thanks a lot for the update LL, that's a relief!

Edit: Does inter prefer leaving this page open for another week rather than doing the usual recap? I know she loves doing it (and we do too!), but it depends on how she feels right now... I just hope she doesn't feel pressured into doing it for us.

[Lljones]

Hushpuppy wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Just heard from Justine, indeed internet issues (and a bit of poor health) have delayed this week's page, but she's working on it.

Phew."

Thanks a lot for the update LL, that's a..."

She doesn't feel pressured, and will put the page up at her own desired pace.

[Hushpuppy]

Sandya wrote (#328): "OK-here is my review."

Thanks a lot for this Sandya. I have zero interest in reading historical non-fiction in general, but I've really enjoyed your reviews on these great characters from the past (Talleyrand is my dad's - a history geek - favourite).

[Sandya]

Hushpuppy wrote: "Sandya wrote (#328): "OK-here is my review."

Thanks a lot for this Sandya. I have zero interest in reading historical non-fiction in general, but I've really enjoyed your reviews on these great ch..."

Thank you! It's nice to be appreciated! While I will never write as well as David Cecil, I put a lot of effort in on this review.

[Bill]

Hushpuppy wrote: "The quiz rejected my French answer for this one, mphhh, I had to retype it in English. I didn't see you could 'give up', but in this case what you wanted was 'next', and then once you'd be done with the 25, it'd go back to your initial passes (my first was at 8, and then there was a 'ventre mou' at 12 until 15)."

Thanks - went back and re-did (without cheating on the one that was revealed to me) 18/25. I could not recall the correct title for (view spoiler)[the tale of the headless horseman. (hide spoiler)]

[Shelflife_wasBooklooker]

So glad the quiz proved good entertainment for quite a few of us! And it seems we are increasing the previous average, from the numbers you state (even my 15 were above average when the quiz results were shown to me earlier). We would, wouldn't we?

Sorry Mach for not replying earlier, I was shovelling snow. A lot of snow.
https://www.directupload.net/file/d/6...
We live in a small street, right at the dead end, and the road has not been cleared. All the neighbours, many of whom need to get to the shop, the doctor or to work tomorrow, were shovelling too, and we chatted a bit. We were trying to clear the road, with middling success. I any case, chances are that it might work out better than it would have otherwise.

I need a hot drink and soup (carrot & ginger? mushroom & cream? - sorry, reen - spinach & curry? Let's see which vegetables I will pick from the freezer) and sandwiches, I think. Mr B is in a Zoom conference, poor man, so I will have to pamper myself.
Will get back to you about Malina. Let me just say that I understand your discontinuing the read at this time, absolutely!

Also very glad that inter is doing o.k.-ish! A phew from me, too.

Edit: And agreeing on the excellence of your review, Sandya!

[Clare de la lune]

Lljones wrote: "Just heard from Justine, indeed internet issues (and a bit of poor health) have delayed this week's page, but she's working on it.

Hope she'll be ok

[[deleted user]]

Thanks, Sandya (328), a lovely review. I think I read it years ago, but remember nothing beyond an impression of DC’s mellifluous style, so it is joining the To Be Re-Read pile.

Very glad to hear good-ish news of Justine.

[AB76]

Mach

Did you ever get round to reading "Bengal Nights" by Mircea Eliade?

Its still the strangest novel of British India i have read, a wonderful find, though i dont think its very well known. I must read the "reply" novel by his lover Maitreyi Devi at some point too

Sandya- you might be interested in this too

[scarletnoir]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "scarletnoir wrote (#78): "If you like Barnes on love"

I verified it today: I do, still — despite the didacticism in this half-chapter of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, which ..."

Thanks for those excellent quotes... "These are grand words...", indeed.

Even though it is many years since I read A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, the description of how Barnes and his wife (or characters?) fall asleep seemed immediately familiar - it's so well written, it's memorable. In truth, it is not my favourite Barnes - some chapters worked less well (for me) than others - but at his best...

[scarletnoir]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: Along with Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which I read during a bout of flu contributing to a sort of feverish state

I have theorised before in TLS about whether Raskolnikov's illness (sounds like flu) and poor physical condition made him more likely to commit his dreadful deeds - surely, our judgement is affected when we are in a bad way.

Is that how you remember it? It's a long time ago, for me.

[Tam]

Very glad to hear Justine is not too discombobulated! Mind you these days having internet problems of disconnection is the equivalent of being 'sent to Coventry'!... A Cathedral that I have not yet got round to visiting... so I will put it on my list of 'break out' secular pilgrimage destinations!... for after the 'storm'... A bit of modern brutalism might be right up my street after this past year or so.

I had promised myself a visit to Guildford cathedral, of which, I have friends who actually hate it, and who have moved house in order NOT to have it in their sightline. But I will be sweetening the probable 'bitter tonic' with a visit to 'Watts gallery', near by, when it opens. I have seen photos of Guildford cathedral, and to me it reminds me of late Victorian power stations, such as the one that is now Tate Modern. Still its a 'power' station of sorts I guess, but a different sort of power!...